Middle of Nowhere
by doopdoop2
Summary: Todoroki sees someone with a soul mark identical to his. That's the good news. Bad news: it's an employee at a roadside motel in a tiny, middle-of-nowhere town. Worse news: this guy apparently already has a boyfriend. (Quirkless/Soul Mark AU. Oneshot.)


_ Well, _ Todoroki thought, _ at least the scenery's nice. _

The trip had been all his own idea. _ We're moving across the country, _ his father had said. _ Come fly first class with me. _ And as an extremely strange act of rebellion, Todoroki had decided against taking a plane there: he would come, but at his own pace, in his own car. _ I like driving, and it will save money. _ It wasn't as if his father could argue with that. For a while, Todoroki could feel smug about himself, as if he'd outsmarted his father in some tiny way.

It would be an eighteen-hour drive, two days of driving planned it right. And now, eight hours into the first day, he could barely stop his head from spinning. He saw lines when he closed his eyes. It wasn't even dark out, but he could go no further, not without risking a crash.

The landscape was beautiful - all rolling, pine tree-covered hills and distant mountains, the deep green fading into blue-gray - but whatever town he'd crawled into gave Todoroki a deep sense of sadness. Everything was run down; the architecture felt 70s at best. The shops had lopsided, hand-painted signs, and the Tourist Info center looked like it was run out of someone's shoddy little house. He pulled into a hotel - no, a _ motel _\- just off the main road and parked. There was only one other car in the parking lot.

**I'm stopping for the day, **Todoroki began to text his father. Then he paused. He didn't even know what city he was in. (City? Was that even the right word?) Only by checking Maps on his phone did he find the name: Black Rock, population 8,137.

**I'm stopping for the day and spending the night in Black Rock. **Sent.

The reply came before he even had the car door open. **Why are you stopping already? You're less than halfway to Kessel.**

Todoroki shut his phone off.

* * *

The motel itself, despite its dated architecture, was nicer inside than Todoroki had expected. It was clean, at least, and quiet. A boy about Todoroki's own age looked up sharply when he entered, his eyes widening. "Good afternoon! Welcome to the Black Rock Inn!"

"I want a room for the night," Todoroki said. "Do you have any vacancies?"

Maybe a sharper, less sincere employee might have caught the jab, but this one only nodded earnestly. Todoroki could have rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure we do! Let me take a look."

A moment later, as Todoroki was handing over his credit card, he saw the employee's soul mark, and froze.

The boy's right hand was a dark gray-black, almost as if the thumb and all fingers had been dipped in ink. The mark stopped about halfway up the palm. Even his fingernails grew in black.

In his nineteen years old living, Todoroki Shouto had never once seen anyone with a soul mark even remotely resembling his. And this boy's - this motel employee's - was identical.

"Excuse me," Todoroki said, looking quickly at the employee's badge. "Midoriya?"

The boy looked up from the computer, where he'd been inputting Todoroki's card info. "Yes?"

"I've had a change of plans. Can I book a room for eight weeks instead?"

Midoriya blinked, and his mouth fell open. It took him a moment to regain his composure and stutter out an affirmative.

_ Trust me, _ Todoroki thought, _ I'm just as surprised as you. _

* * *

Todoroki called up his father later that night. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to having, but the sooner he got it over with, he figured, the better.

"Shouto," his father said. "What's going on?"

"I'm not coming straight there," he began.

"Yes, I saw your text. You said you're spending the night in Black Rock. Did you see my reply?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I've had… a change of heart."

A pause. This is the part where, predictably, his father would boil over in anger. "What do you mean by that, Shouto?"

"I'm taking a leave of absence."

"What?"

"Let's say, two months. Maybe three. I'll keep you updated."

He hung up, and, after a moment's pause, turned his phone onto airplane mode.

* * *

Todoroki wore gloves.

He always had, ever since he was in middle school. It was something people did sometimes, when they wanted to hide their soul marks, and Todoroki liked the look of it. He didn't particularly relish the idea of everyone seeing his bizarre, ink-fingered right hand. Before he'd worn gloves, he'd gotten a lot of comments on it; no one had ever commented on the gloves. So they stayed.

That meant he had the advantage (so to speak) of knowing something about Midoriya that Midoriya did not know about him. But how to act on that information was far beyond his capabilities.

Still, he had not booked eight weeks at the Black Rock Inn to _ not _give this a shot.

Todoroki spent his first night night resting his eyes, and ventured out for the complimentary breakfast the following morning. Midoriya was not there, but serving the food was a short, round woman with eyes and hair strikingly similar to Midoriya's. So, also a Midoriya.

She was Inko, Todoroki learned, and she loved to talk. Within fifteen minutes, he'd learned more than he'd expected to learn in a week. Inko's son was named Izuku; he was nineteen. Inko owned the inn, a family business of sorts, and he worked full-time alongside her. Inko wanted Izuku to go to a university in some larger city, but he didn't want to leave her, even though he was of course smart enough to go, if he chose to.

And Izuku had a boyfriend.

Todoroki had been half expecting that, with how shitty his luck always seemed to be. But it was not going to be fun to be the one who broke up a (presumably) happy relationship over something as arbitrary as a soul mark.

So Todoroki decided to bide his time. There was no showing his hand too soon. It was still possible he was wrong, and the soul marks were subtly different somehow - or perhaps for Midoriya would rather not know, and it would be best for Todoroki to leave and not say anything. Some people were like that, and it was a point of view Todoroki couldn't help but respect.

Over the course of his first week at the motel, Todoroki learned Izuku's schedule, partially from Inko and partially just from observation. The Midoriyas were not the only employees at the motel; Izuku typically worked during the afternoon and evening, Inko during the morning and early afternoon, but there were days when neither worked at all. In addition to working the front desk, Izuku did a lot of cleaning and laundry. It was mid-fall; the boom of summer tourist season was long over, and even with his extra duties, Izuku had a lot of free time when he sat at the front desk.

Todoroki decided to use this to his advantage.

He began to take his laptop to the main office and pretend to be working on something. Every so often, he'd sigh dramatically and flip his computer shut, and, like a switch had been turned, Izuku would engage him in conversation - as if he'd been waiting for Todoroki to be free. At first they mostly just engaged in small talk, discussing the weather, the motel, and the handful of other guests; but about a week and a half after he first arrived, Todoroki and Izuku had what Todoroki would later consider their first real conversation.

"Todoroki," Izuku said, "may I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"It's kind of personal! You don't have to answer!" Izuku laughed and rubbed his right hand nervously. He was rubbing along the edge of the soul mark, Todoroki realized, and felt a pang. Probably it was a meaningless nervous tic, but maybe some part of him _ knew. _

"It's okay," Todoroki said, when after a moment of silence he realized Izuku was waiting for a response. "You can ask."

"I'm just curious… why did you decide to stay here so long? Not that I'm not glad you're here!" The words came out so fast that Todoroki could barely make them out. "I'm just really curious, because I honestly can't remember the last time someone stayed so long!"

Todoroki nodded. "I understand. You see, I'm a writer. I look for quiet, scenic places to work on my novels, and I decided I liked the feel of Black Rock."

This was a lie Todoroki was actually quite proud of. It enabled him to spend long stretches of time seemingly doing nothing, because that was what writers did, right? If he spent all his time on his computer, he was writing; if he spent it staring off into space, he was getting inspiration. It was foolproof.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Izuku said, his eyes sparkling. "What kind of books do you write?"

"Mystery." Todoroki had planned this all out, knowing Izuku would almost certainly probe deeper. "Right now I'm planning out a murder mystery novel, and I'm considering setting it here."

Izuku could not have looked more excited had he been told he'd won the lottery. "That's so cool! Will you let me read it sometime?"

"Sure, when it's finished."

Todoroki thought that was the end of it, but a moment later Izuku spoke again. "I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Well, really, my mom wanted me to ask you," he said, smiling a little sheepishly. "I didn't even think of this. But - what are you doing for lunch and dinner? The rooms only have a microwave and a mini-fridge. Have you been cooking with a microwave this whole time?"

"Well, no," Todoroki said. "I've mostly been going out to eat."

"Oh," Izuku said, blinking in surprise. "That's going to get really expensive!"

What Izuku said was probably true, especially since Todoroki had been avoiding fast food; but on the other hand, it was still not nearly enough to make a dent in Todoroki's wallet. He didn't want to say this, though, so he just kept silent.

"You can come over sometime and use our kitchen!" Izuku said, the words all coming out in a rush again. Todoroki wasn't sure whether to be endeared or annoyed. "My mom suggested it and I think it's a really good idea! Or - we always have a ton of leftovers, because it's hard to cook for two people. You can have some of those too!"

What the hell? Was this almost-complete stranger actually_ inviting him into his house? _

"I have tomorrow night off, but my mom's working," Izuku said. "Come over for dinner!"

"Sure," Todoroki said, pleased that his plan seemed to be working without him even having to do anything.

"Oh, awesome! And you can meet Tenya!"

\- or maybe not.

* * *

Izuku's house was small but nice looking; it had a tiny garden out front, which had probably been charming over the summer but was now brown and withered from the frost. When Todoroki arrived ten minutes early and rang the doorbell, he thought he heard someone cry out from within the house. A moment later, Izuku opened the door, his face a little flushed.

"You're early," he said, his tone eager and accusing at the same time. "You can come in and sit down - I'm not ready yet, though!"

"Sorry," Todoroki said, plopping down on the couch. The air was warm and thick with the smell of cooking food. Izuku disappeared into the kitchen, and for ten minutes Todoroki was alone with his thoughts, wondering what Tenya was like. Todoroki still felt he was in too deep - that maybe it was best he leave now and never come back. He wasn't sure he had it in him to steal someone's boyfriend away. What if Tenya was a nice person? How could Todoroki do that to him?

"Food's done!" Izuku said, coming in from the kitchen. "Wash your hands and help me set the table." Then he stopped and grinned. "Sorry, I sound like my mom!"

Todoroki was happy enough for something to occupy himself with, though. Just as he was done setting the table, the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Izuku said, and actually _ ran _ to let him in.

Tenya was tall and broad-shouldered, square-chested and muscular. A little intimidating, frankly. But his smile to Todoroki was friendly, and the look he gave Izuku after was tender - the most loving expression Todoroki had ever seen. _ Fuck, _ Todoroki thought, and felt cold.

Then Tenya took off his mittens, and Todoroki saw his hand.

Black fingers, black fingernails. Like he'd dipped his right hand into ink.

"You still have your jacket on," Izuku fussed, taking the mittens from him. "It's not even that cold outside!"

"It's supposed to get below freezing tonight. I didn't want to catch cold!"

"You can't get a cold from being cold," Izuku said. "That's a myth."

"It is?"

Todoroki could not remember ever before feeling quite so small.

"Todoroki, this is Tenya Iida. Tenya, Todoroki."

"Pleased to meet you!"

They shook hands. Soul mark touching soul mark, only separated by the thin cotton of his glove.

Todoroki felt fuzzy-headed and realized he was zoning out while staring at Iida's soul mark. But by the time he realized, Iida had followed his gaze, and looked knowingly at his own right hand. "Yes, our soul marks match," he said, as if he'd reach Todoroki's mind. "Izuku and I met when we were fifteen. I live in Elmwood, which is only about ten miles away, and we met by chance on a combined school trip. I consider myself _ incredibly _lucky."

"Tenya," Izuku said, putting his hand lightly on Iida's arm - a little embarrassed, a little pleased.

"That's awesome," Todoroki said, feeling like shit.

Well, the food was good. And Todoroki found, to his amazement, that he actually enjoyed the evening, besides the part where it left him questioning his entire identity. Had soul marks not been involved at all, the night would have been wonderful, he thought. They didn't even _ do _ anything, just talked, but Todoroki liked listening to their back and forth, liked Iida's upfrontness and Izuku's friendliness. Had Todoroki been a real author, he would have made them his main characters.

That night, Todoroki lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if putting his entire life on hold for a whim was, perhaps, not a good plan. There was no way that Todoroki could break them up now, absolutely none whatsoever - yet he didn't want to leave, either. Not in one week, not in six.

* * *

_ Come hiking with us, _ Izuku had said. _ You can't experience Black Rock without hiking! And you can get inspiration for your book! _

They'd only known each other two weeks, but Todoroki was finding that he couldn't say no to that face, those eyes. That grin.

He really liked Izuku. He was quite confident he would have felt this way even if they did not share a mark, although of course he could not be certain. In any event, he had agreed to hiking. And, of course, Iida was coming too.

Todoroki could not hate Iida. He couldn't even resent him, because it was clear Iida absolutely adored Izuku. When the smaller boy was talking, Iida would look at him in an almost religious way - rapt, taking in every word he was saying. And Izuku loved Iida too; he was at turns teasing and gentle, silly and serious, whatever the moment called for. Iida was sturdy, Izuku was flexible; Todoroki knew he added nothing to their dynamic at all.

Izuku picked Todoroki up at the hotel and drove him to the trailhead, where Iida was waiting. All at once Todoroki grew very nervous, because they were at at the base of a mountain - the trail was visible for a long time, snaking back and forth as it climbed in altitude.

"I'll probably just slow you guys down," Todoroki said. "I haven't really done much hiking before." _ And I'm out of shape, _ he added silently. _ Also, you two are ripped. _

"It's not really about reaching the top," Iida said. "Izuku and I have both done this trail before - we're fine if we don't complete it! We'll let you set the pace, and if you ever feel like turning around, just say so."

Izuku walked ahead, glancing over his shoulder frequently to make sure Todoroki hadn't fallen behind; Iida went last. Todoroki knew he set a slow pace, but the others never seemed impatient. When Todoroki, red-faced and breathing hard, asked to take a short break, Izuku actually _ apologized _for not realizing that he was tired. If it had been anyone else, Todoroki would have suspected the niceness was an act, but in his weeks here so far he'd never seen any sign that these two were less perfect than they appeared.

They were nearing the end of the trail, where it would loop around and take them back downhill - Todoroki was planning to push himself to the end, his aching lungs be damned - when a rock underfoot gave way. Todoroki stumbled and fell, hard, landing on his hands and one knee. His hands stung only a little thanks to the gloves, but when he pulled himself up into a standing position, he caught the telltale flash of red from his knee, and a throb of pain.

"Todoroki!" Iida said, bounding towards him. He gripped Todoroki's arm, as if to make sure he wouldn't slip again. "Are you alright?"

"I just skinned my knee. I'm fine."

"Izuku, wait," Iida called, guiding Todoroki to a mostly-flat rock nearby, where he could sit down.

"Todoroki, I'm so sorry!" Iida said, speedwalking over to where he sat. "I didn't even notice you fell!"

"I'm honestly fine. Let's keep going," Todoroki said. It sure did feel nice to sit down, though. "I can just clean this when I get back to the hotel."

"I've got antiseptic wipes and bandages in my bag," Iida said, kneeling down in front of him. "Izuku-"

"I'll get them," Izuku said, unzipping Iida's backpack. "Here."

"It doesn't look deep, but it's got a lot of debris in it," Iida said, his face close to the wound. "I'll do my best to clean this now. Todoroki, I'm sorry, this might sting." Izuku took Todoroki's hand.

The pain was small, but Todoroki felt close to tears. He did not deserve to be treated this way by these people. He didn't deserve to be here with them at all.

"Let's head back," Izuku said, once Todoroki was bandaged.

"We're almost at the top. I can make it."

"Nah," Izuku said, "My mom's making lunch. If we get back early I can help her out."

"I can help too!" Iida said. "I haven't seen Inko in a while. I'm looking forward to catching up with her."

And even that was kind - pretending they were leaving early for their own sake, and not his.

Todoroki had never met people like this before in his life.

* * *

A few days later, they were over at Izuku's house, eating dinner together. They'd all helped make it this time: Izuku had seen how hopeless he was in the kitchen, and actually had to teach him how to properly chop things, but in the end Todoroki could honestly say he'd helped prepare it, too. And it felt good, sitting down with a meal that hadn't just been prepared _ for _ him, but also (partially) _ by _ him. Like he'd done something he could be proud of, even if it was small.

But, during dinner and after, Izuku was strangely quiet. Todoroki didn't dare ask, but luckily Iida did: "Is something wrong?"

"I just realized that Todoroki's been here for more than a third of his time," Izuku said, voice quiet. Then, to Todoroki's utter shock, he began to cry. "I know he's still got most of the time left, but… I don't want you to go." He said the last sentence looking directly at Todoroki, who felt the weight of his gaze physically, a pang in his chest. "I'll miss you."

"Izuku…" Iida said, taking one of his hands.

"I-I'm sorry - I know this is weird!" Izuku sniffed and rubbed his eyes, smiling and crying at the same time. "Like, you just came here to write! You probably didn't even expect to make friends, and I'm getting all clingy and stuff. It's just really nice, having you here."

After a moment Todoroki realized they were both waiting for his reaction. He swallowed, mouth dry. "I don't want to leave," he said at last. "I really enjoy being with both of you. It's a lot of fun."

It sounded stupid and shallow, but apparently it was good enough; Iida smiled, Izuku cried a little harder, and Todoroki thought, for the thousandth time: _ What the hell am I doing? _

* * *

He knew it would happen eventually. In the end, it was the chili that did it.

Iida was scooping it into Todoroki's bowl, but some of it spilled out directly onto Todoroki's gloved right hand. His gloves were white that day, and the huge glob of chili looked ridiculous - he knew he'd have to bleach them later - but after a moment he discovered it was also _ hot. _Todoroki hissed in pain; he intended to rise to rinse the glove under the tap, but Iida was there before he could even get to his feet. In one swift motion he stripped the glove off completely.

Then he froze.

Izuku stood. "Tenya, what-"

He saw it then. He looked at his own hand, then back at Todoroki's. Then at Iida's.

"Todoroki?"

They were both looking at him. Todoroki felt his face flush, felt his heartbeat in his throat. He had to speak, to explain, but for a long moment it took everything he had not to turn and run out of Izuku's house, take his car and drive off into the night, never to return.

"I'm not really a writer," he said at last.

They stared at him.

"Look, I…" Todoroki sighed and removed his other glove for symmetry's sake, tossing it on the table. "I was only intending on staying at the motel one night. Then I saw your mark. I made up the writer thing as an excuse. I'm not actually a writer."

"But," Izuku said, "why didn't you show us your soul mark?"

"Well, see…" Todoroki sighed, knowing this conversation meant the end, the end of everything - he felt it on him like a weight. It made him want to drag out his words, because the faster this ended the faster they'd kick him out, of the house and their lives. "I learned you had a boyfriend. And I thought, at first, that if I showed it to you, it would mean destroying your relationship. And I didn't want to do that right away."

"Uh-huh," Izuku said.

"So then I met Iida, and-"

"You can call me Tenya," Iida said quickly.

Todoroki blinked, frozen for a second from the unexpectedness of it. "What?"

"I've been meaning to tell you that for a while," Iida said. "Sorry for interrupting you. Please, continue."

It threw him, and Todoroki had to take a moment to collect his thoughts enough to continue. "When I saw that Tenya's soul mark _ also _ matched yours, I didn't know what to do. I've honestly never seen that before."

"Nor have I!" Iida said. "May I?"

After waiting for a nod, he took Todoroki's hand and gently turned it, examining it from all sides - comparing it to first his own, then to Izuku's. "That's truly remarkable," Iida said at last. "I've never even heard of such a thing happening."

Todoroki was almost too scared to question his apparent luck, but wanted to know where he stood. "You're not mad at me?"

The boyfriends looked at each other, then turned back to Todoroki. Izuku spoke first. "I'm not mad," he said, slowly, and Todoroki actually felt his entire body sag in relief at the words. "I mean - if it was me," Izuku went on, "I would have told you right away, but that's just the kind of person I am, I think. You were wearing gloves from the beginning, so it's not like you put them on just to fool us. And honestly… it makes me a little relieved! I had never felt that way towards anyone who wasn't Tenya!"

"We had an interesting conversation several days ago," Iida said, adjusting his glasses. "We ended up discussing our mutual attraction to you."

Todoroki coughed.

"I know, I know, it sounds weird," Izuku said, smiling. "But - like, honestly, we were going to ask you this even before we saw this." He took Todoroki's hand in his, tracing the edge of the soul mark with a finger, similar to the way Todoroki had seen him touch his own. "Do you want to be with us?"

"This complicates things," Todoroki said, looking down. "I mean - yes - I do, very much - but I wasn't going to stay here forever."

"Where are you from?" Iida asked him, and Todoroki told them - about his father, the family business, the cross-country relocation that found him in Black Rock to begin with. But a ten-hour driving distance was not conducive to a relationship, and Todoroki wasn't sure he could date them five weeks and just go on his way. He told them this.

"You said you were on your way to Kessel?" Iida asked.

"Yes - that's where my father's business is now located."

"There's a good university there." Iida looked at Izuku. "My brother almost went there. They've got a lot of excellent programs."

"No, there's no way, you can't." Todoroki's breath caught in his throat. He put his hands over his face and leaned forward, shaking his head. "You can't change your life like that for me," he said, voice muffled. "I'm not worth it."

"It might be changing our lives for the better," Iida said. "I didn't intend to stay here forever, either. There are a lot more opportunities in a big city like that."

"My mom's always saying I should go to school," Izuku said. "But I didn't want to leave her - or Tenya."

"You two-"

Todoroki was really crying now, hearing himself as if from a distance: ugly, fake-sounding sobs that he could not hold in, even if he tried. But he felt a hand on his shoulder, then the gentle pressure of someone putting their arms around him. He didn't know if it was Iida or Izuku, and, honestly, it didn't matter. The touch was welcome, either way.

"It's something to think about. Something we can discuss further," Iida said, a minute later.

"I really like you," Izuku said. "So don't feel bad." He laughed. "I can't wait to tell my mom about this. She'll be so surprised! By the way, Todoroki, she likes you too!"

Todoroki could only imagine how the conversation would go when he did eventually reunite with his father. He hadn't turned his phone off airplane mode in weeks. Well, whatever happened would happen, and he would deal with it then. For now, Todoroki had better things to focus on.

His face was still wet with tears, but he thought he had never smiled so hard in his life. "Please," he said, "you can call me Shouto."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Come hang with me on twitter, I'm doop_doop2!


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